Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

12.12.12
3
lakes district news
5060845A A
Use your outdoor living
areas all year round
18 months
interest free*
Normal lending criteria apply
• Warm & dry in winter
• UV protection for summer
• Stylish & permanent
• 5 year warranty
FreePhone 0508 272 446 | www.archgola.co.nz
Ray Prouting
2444219AA
Picture Framing
All works of art
professionally framed
Good range of mouldings
For creative framing
with the "WOW factor
Ph 441-8405
R & J CREATIONS
6 Kelvin Place
SHORT AND SHARP
Santa's special helper
Santa and his special helper
Queenstown Lakes Mayor
Vanessa van Uden make friends
with Audric Chai, 2, at the
Queenstown library on Monday.
About 20 tiny tots turned out to
see Santa and hear his mayoral
helper read Christmas stories
during the regular Monday
morning preschool library
session. Santa arrived in a
1960s-style convertible with a
sackload of presents.
Photo: Sue Fea 627412005
Sydney in Arrowtown
Fourteen-week-old Sydney
Boden is home in Arrowtown for
Christmas and her family
couldn t be happier. Sydney was
born with a cancerous tumour
on her abdomen, which had
spread into her spinal column.
Doctors have removed it from
her spine and she has shown
some increase in leg movement.
They are watching progress and
will decide whether to proceed
with more chemotherapy or
continue monitoring. A kids day
out fundraiser is being
organised on January 19.
Xmas presents
More presents are needed
under the Mirror Christmas
tree. All donations are
distributed by Happiness House
to families who could use a little
extra Christmas cheer. Bring
unwrapped, new gifts into our
office in Cow Lane.
Super boost for hall
The Queenstown Memorial Hall
upgrade has received a
$200,000 grant from the
Lottery Community Facilities
Fund. The trust now has to raise
$55,000 to complete the $3.1
million project. A recent dt
Carter fashion show
contributed another $8000.
Head teachers rally
against dismissals
Lyn Cooper
Peter Macdonald
The employment expert who
controversially fired former
Wakatipu High School principal
Lyn Cooper last year has been
criticised for his handling of the
dismissal and that of two other
principals.
Auckland lawyer Richard Harri-
son believed there were ''concern-
ing'' similarities between the
cases of Ms Cooper, Aranui High
School principal Graeme Pollock
who was was fired in 2005 and that
of Christchurch Girls High School
principal Prue Taylor who was
dismissed last month before being
reinstated following a damning
Employment Relations Authority
report.
Employment advocate Peter Mac-
donald was Education Ministry-
appointed statutory manager at
the time of Ms Cooper and Mr
Pollock's dismissals. Both suc-
cessfully appealed their dis-
missals. Mr Pollock received a
settlement payout and took up a
principal's position overseas. Ms
Cooper was reinstated before her
case reached an ERA hearing. She
was given a public apology from
the board for the ''unfortunate''
dismissal, resigned four weeks
later and was hired as the deputy
principal at Invercargill's Verdon
College, a role she had held prior
to being appointed at Wakatipu
High.
Mr Harrison is now acting for Mrs
Taylor, who was dismissed by the
school board and reinstated last
month after the report found her
dismissal was ''procedurally, and
possibly substantively unjusti-
fied''.
Ms Cooper said when Mrs
Taylor's dismissal hit the head-
lines last month, it had felt like
deja vu.
The terminology Mr Macdonald
had used to fire both women was
''identical'' and a year on Ms
Cooper still did not know why she
had been sacked.
All three lodged grievances that
resulted in a major backdown by
the schools and in each case Mr
Macdonald played a key role for
the schools.
Mr Harrison said there were
''concerning''
similarities
between the cases and believed
''no evidence of misconduct'' or
behaviour justifying dismissal
existed in any of the cases.
The major process failures in Mrs
Taylor's dismissal, highlighted by
the ERA report, also featured in
both Ms Cooper and Mr Pollock's
cases, he said.
''My concern is in all three cases
there has been a misuse of
process; an approach I don't think
should be followed by someone
who is government-appointed,''
Mr Harrison said.
In his view, the approach that had
been taken in the cases ''is a way
to basically not follow process and
just humiliate the principal to the
point where it just drives them
out''.
In each case, the principal had
been invited to a meeting with the
board and were told their
employer ''no longer has trust or
confidence in you and if you don't
go voluntarily, you will get
dismissed''.
Mr Macdonald denied he had
acted improperly and said the
only similarities between the
cases was that by the time he was
appointed, the schools had had
''damning'' ERO reports.
He rejected the accusation he had
made any mistakes in his
approach to all three cases.
''I believe the processes in every
instance . . . have been fair and
reasonable. I stand by my
decisions in every instance.''
Building consents up on 2011
Lakes Environmental approved
more building consents from July
to November this year in most
parts of the Queenstown Lakes
District, compared with the same
period last year.
Between July 2012 and November
2012 the figures were: Arrowtown
48; Wakatipu 108; Wanaka 192,
compared with between July 2011
and November 2011: Arrowtown
34; Wakatipu 103; Wanaka 177.
Only Queenstown is bucking the
trend with 91 building consents
approved from July to November
this year, down from 125 during
the same period last year. But the
value of this year's Queenstown
consents is higher at $27 million,
compared to $23m during the
same period last year.
Throughout the district, 439
consents were approved from July
to November this year, the same
amount as during the same period
last year. These figures were
reported incorrectly in last week's
Mirror. The error is regretted.